Devour: Emperor Yan

"Damn, looks like he's going to take all this treasure?" Thor glared, transmitting his voice with some resentment.

"It's frustrating!" Luo Feng said helplessly, looking at the large group of people walking at the front in the distance.

"He has nine C2-level laser guns, which are deadly weapons, and he currently has three or four thousand men under his command! In addition, given his status as an imperial prince, he doesn't hesitate at all to kill the elites of those organizations, nor is he afraid of being retaliated against afterward... As a result, naturally no one can stop him." Hong shook his head.

Not only were they helpless, but tens of thousands of people in the entire venue could only watch helplessly.

"Let's wait and see. He's powerful now, but that's before he sees the treasure... things might change once he does." Lin Kun smiled.

Upon hearing this, Luo Feng and the others exchanged glances and nodded thoughtfully.

The wages of avarice is death.

The reason you're not working hard is simply because the temptation isn't strong enough.

When the temptation and the benefits are great enough, who cares who you are?

If the treasure is attractive enough, the tens of thousands of people present are not to be trifled with.

Nine laser guns, how many can they kill?

Even firing once requires energy, it's not like you have unlimited ammunition.

Moreover, most of the three or four thousand people under the Ninth Prince's command are free adventurers who were only temporarily recruited.

......

When they arrived at a short distance from the castle, everyone stopped in unison.

Then, the Ninth Prince Brolin, accompanied by nine bodyguards, cautiously approached the castle.

Standing in front of the castle's gate, which is 12 meters high and 8 meters wide.

"Sambi, go open the gate," Ninth Prince Brolin said, raising his chin as he instructed one of his bodyguards.

The bodyguard stepped forward, walked to the door, placed his hands on the door, and pushed it hard.

At this moment, everyone was on tenterhooks, watching quietly from a distance with a mixture of anticipation and tension.

No one stopped or sabotaged it.

This ancient castle has stood here alone for millions of years. Is it finally going to be opened today?

What's inside?

A flush of excitement appeared on the face of the Ninth Prince Brolin.

bang bang bang~

As the bodyguard pushed the door open, it trembled slightly, and some dust and debris drifted down from all sides.

then.

hiss hiss hiss~

Streaks of electricity suddenly shot out from all parts of the castle, and a large amount of lightning almost instantly covered and surrounded the entire surface of the castle.

The bodyguard who pushed open the door didn't even have time to react or back away before a bolt of lightning pierced through his body.

In an instant, as if his hair had been singed by fire, he turned into ashes with a hiss, leaving only his red-hot, almost melting alloy battle suit barely surviving, which fell to the ground.

"this!"

This sudden turn of events shocked everyone.

Ninth Prince Brolin also broke out in a cold sweat. He quickly retreated behind the group of bodyguards, his face pale and frightened.

If he had pushed the door open himself, he would be the one turned to ashes now.

Sizzle, hiss~

Countless electric snakes continued to circle the castle, flowing and flashing.

Moreover, the lightning did not subside; instead, it increased, and gradually, the entire castle was transformed into a lightning fortress, bathed in endless thunder.

Everyone was shocked and watched in fear from afar, no one daring to approach.

After all, the power of that thunder was truly terrifying!

With just a small slash, the bodyguard was instantly reduced to ashes, and his alloy suit almost melted away.

Now, an endless barrage of thunder shrouds everything; who dares to touch it?!

......

The room was completely silent; no one spoke.

a moment.

Click click click~

Under the distorted, blinding electric light of Thunder Castle.

The door suddenly emitted a low thud, and then slowly opened on its own.

"It's open!"

Many people's eyes lit up instantly, their gazes like those of a starving wild dog that had suddenly spotted a fragrant, fresh bone.

Some are itching to do something.

But in the end, they all tried their best to remain restrained and dared not act rashly.

boom!

The castle gates were fully open.

The dark gate was wide open, and everyone strained to see inside, even managing to make out some of the castle's layout.

Everyone watched silently, remaining still, waiting to see if any further changes would occur.

puff~

suddenly.

All the lightning that had been flickering around the castle's surface quickly receded and disappeared.

However, at this moment, all the dust and other substances that had existed on the surface of the entire castle for millions of years disappeared, as if it had been completely renewed.

咻咻 咻 ~

Beams of light lit up, enveloping the entire castle.

"Haha! Hahahaha..."

A hearty, exhilarating laugh echoed from the castle, reverberating throughout the heavens and earth.

"Welcome to the Realm Within a Realm. I have been waiting for this day for over ten million years!" A deep voice resounded in everyone's ears.

Tens of thousands of adventurers were stunned.

There's actually life inside the castle?

Who can live that long?

immortal?

impossible!

If Lord Kabu were truly still alive, he would have already become immortal, and would not have remained hidden within the realm for tens of millions of years without ever showing himself.

Many people were immediately filled with doubt and uncertainty.

"Big brother, do you know what's going on?" Luo Feng and the others looked at Lin Kun, who stood calmly beside them.

"To live this long, one must either be immortal, which can basically be ruled out... That leaves only intelligence," Lin Kun said softly.

Luo Feng and the others suddenly realized.

Yes, intelligence has no lifespan limit.

"You lot are so stupid, you have no sense at all. And you spend every day with me, the Demon Babata. Look, Lin Kun realized it instantly."

Babata's somewhat disdainful voice rang out in their ears, followed by a dismissive remark: "That laughing thing must be the auxiliary AI left behind by that deceased realm lord. Having been alone for millions of years, I wonder if it has evolved into a fully intelligent life form?"

"If it truly evolved into intelligent life, and is unable to log into the virtual universe network on its own, then after experiencing millions of years of solitude, its temperament would definitely become extremely abnormal!"

Babata said solemnly, "Therefore, you must be very careful."

"Perverted personality?" Lin Kun and the others raised their eyebrows, then were speechless.

Perhaps the only beings who truly understand intelligent life are intelligent life itself.

Babata had only been lonely for 50,000 years and was already on the verge of collapse. If this intelligence, which had been lonely for over 10 million years, were to evolve into a life form, it wouldn't be incomprehensible if it were to become somewhat eccentric.

......

It wasn't just Luo Feng and his group who realized what was happening.

The elites from various powerful organizations present, after a brief moment of surprise, gradually came to their senses.

In the universe, apart from immortal beings, the only thing not limited by lifespan is intelligence.

"Hmph, mere auxiliary AI, always pretending to be a mystery." Some people muttered disdainfully.

But their eyes were all serious.

They've clearly all considered this: if an intelligence were to truly evolve into an intelligent life form, how extreme would its loneliness of tens of millions of years be?!

......

咻咻 咻 ~

Above the castle, beams of light converged, eventually forming a phantom-like figure that floated in the air.

Everyone stared calmly.

Focusing light on a person's image is a common display method used by smart devices. It's a technological means, not particularly sophisticated, similar to video calls or projections, and nothing to be surprised about.

The illusory figure that appeared was a chubby old man with a white beard.

At this moment, the fat old man with a white beard squinted as he looked down at the tens of thousands of people below.

Upon seeing this, many people felt a slight unease.

Judging from its eyes, it possesses a high level of intelligence, just like a human...

They have indeed evolved into intelligent life.

But I wasn't particularly surprised.

Assisted intelligence, although it is difficult for it to evolve into intelligent life.

However, the probability of such evolution is not very low, after all, there are simply too many auxiliary AIs in the entire human territory.

Anyone who purchases an auxiliary computer, or even just anyone who can log into the virtual universe, will have an auxiliary assistant.

Basic assistive intelligence is very cheap; it's given away for free when you buy an assistive computer.

And this thing, if it lives long enough and has enough data and knowledge, has a chance to evolve into a sentient intelligent life form.

With such an incredibly large number of cases, even a small probability becomes not so rare.

Moreover, intelligent life has no lifespan limit. As long as the core chip is not destroyed, or the data is not transferred in time before it is destroyed, it can live on and pass on its legacy to future generations.